


Shards of Light

by Jewishicequeen



Series: Every Fandom Needs A Hoid [1]
Category: Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson, Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Cosmere, Crossover, Gen, World Hoppers, after she's back before she sneaks into the castle, every fandom needs a hoid, happening during rapunzel's return, hoid's everyone's therapist, rapunzel's return, you don't have to read the cosmere books to enjoy that story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:33:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21717724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jewishicequeen/pseuds/Jewishicequeen
Summary: Rapunzel is back and Varian is not ready for it all. A bugger he meets on the street may give him a nudge in the right direction.Basically Hoid is interfering with stuff he shouldn't because he wants to steal investiture. Again.Happens in the middle of Rapunzel's Return, after she first confronts the Saporians and before she sneaks into the castle. You DON'T have to know Hoid to enjoy that fic, it's mostly important only in the bit that's told from his point of view which is barely nothing.
Series: Every Fandom Needs A Hoid [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565311
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Shards of Light

**Toink. Toink. Toink.**

"You should find somewhere else to sit. The king doesn't like buggers that much."

"You mean your people doesn't like buggers that much, young Saporian."

Varian stopped. "I was born in Corona."

"And yet you fight against it. Interesting."

"What do you know about it?!" Varian turned, facing the blind man. Was he blind? He looked blind, his eyes milky white like his hair, but his posture was too regular, too relaxed.

"Me? I know nothing." He raised a finger and pointed at Varian's chest. "You're the wizard boy."

"Alchemist. It's alchemy. I don't work with magic." Varian said the familiar sentence with annoyance. Could no one understand that simple difference?

"You have no problem your people do, though."

"They're not my people! I told you, I was born in Corona!"

"So why aren't you with the rest of the Coronians, digging gems for the king and queen?"

"I-I- What about you?! Y-you aren't there, too!"

The bugger grinned. "I can't help none with my poor eyes, ain't I?"

"So you're lying to everyone that you can't see, though you obviously recognized me. That's treason."

"I wasn't born in Corona. I don't care to be called a traitor. They called me worse names." The bugger shrugged with a smile. "What I'd like to know is why you would commit treason. Such a bright kid with a promising future. Why throw your life away like that?"

"I h-had no choice."

"Hmmmm."

Varian eyed him suspiciously. "Where are you from, if not Corona?"

"Sit down."

"That's not an answer-"

"Sit down." Varian did, annoyed. The bugger nodded in appreciation. "Now close your eyes."

"Excuse me-?"

"Just do it."

Varian huffed and obayed, ready to jump away from the old man any moment.

"Good. Now, once upo-"

"Is that a story? I'm not 4 years old, you know." Varian stared at him.

"No, but you definitely act like one. Now close your eyes, and LISTEN. Once upon a time, there was a young girl-"

"If this story is about Rapunzel, I'm gonna throw up on you." Varian warned. He head **enough** stories about the princess, thank you. That was everything people seem to be able to talk about nowdays- Rapunzel this and Rapunzel that, oh look, she did this and this and this, she's so **perfect** we're so **LUCKY** she came back-

"This story is about whatever you decide. Once upon a time there was a young girl with hair that burned like fire-"

"So it is about Rapunzel!"

"Would you close your eyes already? -burned like fire. Her name was Ash, because of her burning locks. And that girl, she lived a shaltered life, away from the noise and hardship of our world."

Was that music? He opened his eyes, just to have the bugger scream at him "Close 'em and listen!"

"But tough times came, and her family couldn't shalter her any longer. Her family was in trouble, and Ash knew only one way to fix it." Varian could see it, a girl about sixteen or seventeen walking leaving a lovely home, not looking back. She really didn't look like Rapunzel- her hair was rich red, like his mother's used to be. She looked scared.

"Ash knew the princess of the land had a device that could save her family, and that the only way to get to the princess will be to join her as her apprentice. Then, when she gains the princess's trust, she will take the device and go back to her homeland."

He saw the princess, looking, more then anyone, like Cassandra. With beautiful, harsh features and pitch black hair, smart eyes tucked in a book. And here was Ash, getting close, having a conversation with the scary royalty and helping her with her books. They looked... close.

"Ash liked the princess. She was a good worker and a fast learner, and the princess put her trust in her, enough to show her her important research. And Ash loved it- she loved every part, the books, the people, the world."

"But her family." Varian whispered. "Her family needed her. Counted on her."

"Yes, and Ash knew that. This is why she took the device, betraying the princess's trust. There's nothing more important then family." He saw her, saw her swapping the device with a fake, trying it on, and with her, realized that something was wrong. "It was broken." He whispered, openning his eyes. "Or fake. The princess's device didn't work. It never did. She did it all for nothing." Like a golden flower that no longer held it's legendary powers, the device was no more then an empty shell. A pretty ruin.

"It wasn't the device. Ash did all of the way for nothing. She betrayed the princess, lost her job, her research, her freedom, in exchange for a pretty object that did nothing." The bugger said in a low voice.

Yes, there was music. It stopped now, the bugger's- no, he couldn't have been a real bugger- the man's words held, waiting. "What happened next?" Varian asked.

"That's the whole story."

"No! It's not! What happened to her family, what happened to her? What did the princess do?" He opened his eyes, troubled. "She found another way, did she?"

"That's the whole story." The man said again. Somehow while telling the story he managed to remove his disguise, and his eyes now stared at Varian with scary seriousness, blue and solemn, sad. "That's all there is. Ash betrayed the princess and stole the device, the device didn't work. The rest is unknown, forgetten."

"It can't be unknown! She should go to the princess, say something! Ask for help! The princess had money, had connections, she could've saved them!" His eyes were wet. "S-s-she can't lose e-everything, she-she has to do... something..." he turned to the man. "Where did you hear that story?"

"I never heard it before. It is your story, not mine." The man leaned toward him, blue eyes focused on blue eyes, finger touching Varian's chest. "So **you** tell me, young alchemist. What would Ash do?"

* * *

Hoid brushed his pants, looking at the young man's back. He wasn't aiming at him- his intention was to meet the young princess before she left to the palace, say some wisecracks, maybe manage to sneak a hair off her head. They said her hair was undestructable, but they said it about other kinds of magic, too. Wouldn't harm to try. But he missed the street, and hit the alchemist instead. Well, he seemed to have needed that conversation. Hoid will find a different place to get that Coronian investiture form from. Maybe that dark kingdom people are whispering about? Probably faster to get there through the Cognitive.

Hoid smiled, stood up, and started marching. Beneath the monument those people built for their flower, in a cave below in the cliff, was a glowing white pool of something that wasn't liquid and wasn't gas.

It's time to start climbing down.

And hop away.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah Ash is obviously Shallan, I choose the name because she's called after Shalash? I hope it's written well and hmm, Hoid you can't steal the investiture from the DK Cass already did that.  
> Every fandom needs a Hoid.  
> Also a little fun fact- name's taken from the Hebrew name of Words of Radiance(רסיסים של אור)


End file.
